Sarah Halle Corey
Usually, summertime is the happiest time of the year for kids. It’s when school’s out, they get to play, and their days are filled with carefree joy. Or, at least that’s the ideal. A new Instagram account is proving that not all kids are having a happy summer, and they’re writing (very funny) letters home to prove it.
Homesickdotcom is an Instagram account full of the sad, homesick letters kids send to their parents from sleepaway camp.
Most of the letters feature notes from kids who don’t seem to appreciate the effort their parents made to give them a fun summer.
“I hate camp. It’s really bad. Can I pleeeeeeeaaaaaase come home?”
There are also some kids who understand the cost of their camp experience… but they still want out.
“I know you already paid for 7 weeks but I want to come home.”
Other kids are simply sending out a straightforward cry for help.
“Help!!!”
Homesickdotcom was started by two New York sisters named Aliza Licht and Ilana Yunis.
“We get hundreds of letters and curate the ones we think are the funniest, then aim to make sure our captions are really punchy. We are thrilled that people are loving the content and sharing it with friends.,” Aliza tells Ruin My Week via email.
In addition to finding the letters funny, Aliza and Ilana hope that the campers’ families take away something positive from the account. Aliza tells Ruin my Week:
We also hope that the account helps parents and kids not to be discouraged if kids don’t immediately adapt to a new experience. It’s about growth and personal development, and while their kids are figuring it out, they can share in each other’s miseries! The kids also read the letters and actually find it therapeutic to see that other kids have similar issues with homesickness and adjusting to the social life of living with friends. The kids who stick with it really have a sense of accomplishment and pride that they powered through!
According to Buzzfeed, the two loved camp when they attended, so they were excited to send their own daughters. However, Ilana’s 10-year-old daughter Serena did not have the same experience her mom and aunt had.
“Serena was sending home these torturous, heart-wrenching letters. I felt terrible for her, but there was something amusing about her letters because they were so dramatic,” said Aliza. “We figured there must be thousands of kids sending home these kinds of letters home, and soon Homesickdotcom was born!”
Aliza and Ilana were right. As they promise in their account bio on Instagram, each post is “100% authentic,” and they’re filled with drama from homesick, but super funny kids.
“I love everything about this camp… except the campers.”
Other kids are very upset about being separated from the comforts of home.
Some campers have sent more than just letters home.
“This is a tear drop.”
Although, some of the kids seem to be able to shift their feelings about camp very quickly, even within one letter.
“I AM SO HOMESICK & WANT TO GO HOME! I can only cry & cry & cry. Do you miss me so much? I am having fun, I sailed yesterday.”
For every happy camper, there’s always going to be a homesick one. So luckily, homesickdotcom likely won’t run out of material any time soon.
